


Myths and Legends of the End of the Federation Old Regime

by JackieSBlake7



Category: Blake's 7
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-08
Updated: 2016-06-08
Packaged: 2018-07-13 21:01:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7136942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JackieSBlake7/pseuds/JackieSBlake7
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A historical view of some of the events of the series</p>
            </blockquote>





	Myths and Legends of the End of the Federation Old Regime

Myths and Legends of the End of the Federation Old Regime: 30 years after Colloquium (summary notes for development for ‘The Journal of Federation Studies’)

 

1) There are a number of stories of Supreme Commander and President Servalan ‘reappearing’ after her death on Gedden. This is a standard legend common across many planets and cultures: often in situations where there is incomplete information on what happened to the person – or what people #believe# is incomplete or suppressed. Often, however, the material was not seen as relevant at the time, or there were not persons in a position to record it, and those whose position it was to record such things were elsewhere, or deemed other things more worthy of note (most of which are now seen as rather trivial).  
Such persons tend to be “strong” figures from the near past (some of whom are actually alive at the time they become focus figures of this kind – President Sarkoff of Lindor being one such example) or the classic outsider figure with a mission or manifesto – most of whom never actual aim for, or achieve power, and whose ideas are taken up (and often transformed) by others. 

Reasons for choice of Servalan – strong personality, identified on Gedden only by dental and other medical records rather than actual body, persons with similar variant names after her death (Sleer, Arlen etc) have become connected with her “legend.” Sleer from same planet as Servalan and passing resemblance from surviving images. (Note to self do not associate with genealogists and similar on trips to such planets.)

2) Travis. There appear to be several notable persons of this name: one was notorious #within# the Federation military for his brutality, and was an apparent associate of Servalan. Roj Blake, while involved in the “Freedom Party” (given the several thousand usages: such groups demonstrate a remarkable lack of unoriginality in title and intents – probably a significant factor in their failure. Note 2: check quote about stupidity being repeating an exercise and expecting a different result) was involved in a fracas with #a# Travis with whom he had various encounters thereafter. The Travis associated with Exbar and events on the spaceship Bari, and used by Federation revisionists to “prove” that administrative-military persons from the old regime was not wholly repugnant is someone else – as occurring after the original Travis’ stated death at Space Command. It is not absolutely certain from the Federation records (which, notoriously, bear evidence of sometimes quite crude tampering) whether these are the same person – though there are some points of physical resemblance. (Debate on the subject can be quite heated, and discussions on the subject with partisans should be avoided – there are usually several positions ‘including the ones nobody in their right minds [even as defined by the said various partisans] holds.’ The same can be said of partisans of the other key figures: there can be rather bizarre misalignments between support for various persons and positions).

The two sequences of stories resulted in “Travis” becoming the standard by-name for a ruthless Federation officer in stories set in the period (and occasional appearance in pantomime and similar comic storytelling – often in conjunction with Space Rats and other persons in bizarre costumes such as Krantor: the historical figure was apparently far more sober in his behaviour and sartorial choices).  
For reasons not recorded in the files Servalan’s Travis was put on trial (probability – scapegoat, as this was in the period leading up to her bid for the presidency – though she was not necessarily directly responsible). It is stated that Travis died in the (claimed) attack on Space Command of [enter date here]. Given the extensive evidence of shoddy construction evident when Space Command was surveyed after the Great Rearrangement, the damage associated with this “event” may have been caused by faulty prior “repairs”, an incident involving over-bold pilots – or even possibly falling into the category somewhat obscurely and darkly referred to as “kitchen related incidents of varying severity and origin.” [Several meals I have had with administrators make this last suggestion not totally implausible.]

3) Dev, Deeta and Del Tarrant.

Given the ambitions of the Teal Vandor groupings, and that fact that a champion of the Teal system had the same name and initial as a member of the “Liberator group”, it is quite understandable that they claim a connection between Deeta and Del (the relationship if it existed was probably more distant).

Ditto Dev Tarrant (though his presence on Earth, when he was normally assigned to the outer worlds, seemingly at the time that Deeta Tarrant was made Champion may suggest an actual connection between these two persons). Note – tampering with Federation records again evident in this context. (The nature of the incident – possibly involving then President Servalan – which led to the permanent exclusion of Federation Presidents as Neutral Arbiters in the Teal-Vandor and similar conflict resolution systems is still somewhat unclear and is being investigated by a colleague.)

4) The Liberator

The actual spaceship used by the Liberator group has been described as resembling a DSV, of which several examples are known (and others can be deduced: despite the claims of Spaceworld otherwise, it is unlikely to have had two given its socio-political structure in the period covered – probably a case of ‘desiring fame by association’). The Blake-Avon group do appear to have made use of several spaceships. This may indicate, however, especially given the number of stories associated with the group and the galactographic spread of these across the then Federation, that activities by other groups have become associated with them.

The ‘wondrous gift’ which gives the user access to many resources is a standard component of the mythology of Level Two societies and cultures (and some persisting myths of higher level cultures): co-option of resources of members of advanced visiting cultures is a common element (and is, in some cases, true – though sometimes in quite new directions).

Given that the activities of several groups have become attributed to Blake and associates it is not surprising that the Liberator has been given the attributes of all the ships that were probably actually made use of by the various persons whose activities have become subsumed into theirs.

However it should be noted that historically existing societies have always been able to do much with what resources they have available, sometimes in particular fields, that now seems surprising – which sometimes leads subsequent societies to attribute more technological and other abilities to them than they actually had. The amount of programming used for the earliest spaceships, some of which achieved feats which are now only done by the most advanced ships with highly trained pilots, was, apparently, comparable with, or even less than what is now used with a #very cheap# background mood lamp or a simple calculator.

The rebels were determined, had a goal to achieve, and were willing to make use of whatever resources were available to them: this would include access to those operating on the margins of society (though not necessary criminal). Those involved in tramp spaceshipping are well known for their ingenuity in repairs and advances of which a number of aspects subsequently came into more general use. (Note to self – do not work for firms with disproportionately large management/supervisory budgets. Nor for ones where the principal expenditure is on sticky-tape and similar, however ingenious their outputs – unless to avoid the other category.)

It should be noted that coordination was developing among the various rebels, independents and others at the time: both the so-called Zukan affair and the events surrounding the “Gauda Prime Group” were part of a wider process, with rebels such as “Avalon” acting across a number of planets. To some extent the association of the well known rebels Kerr Avon and Roj Blake respectively with these events can be seen as an example of syncreticism rather than a direct argument for their involvement.

5) The ‘Zukan affair’

The present Betafarl Regional Grouping claim that both ‘the Avon group’ and Commissioner Sleer (as previously mentioned – note to self: is there any prestige/money to be got in investigating her?) were involved in the supposed disappearance of Betafarl’s then leader Zukan and his daughter and subsequent formation of the BRG by Zukan’s successors and rulers of nearby planets. There are elements of the standard ‘god cop, bad cop’ routine in the Avon-Sleer story – although there is some evidence that both did make contact with several of the various persons involved. Their presences, however, may have been used to allow a cover-up of the somewhat murky activities that actually happened (so none of the rulers in the region need take the blame for anything going wrong). The Teal-Vandor Convention System is generally known throughout a large sector of the galactic quadrant – the development of a similar system between the components of the BRG was probably adopted directly rather than via the supposed Tarrant connection.

6) Blake, clones and Gauda Prime.

There were undoubtedly a number of people who attempted to make use of the names of ‘Blake’ and associates for various reasons (and some #were# called Blake, Avon etc). The reference to the Clonemasters is a conflation-myth way of getting round the large number of stories associated with the genuine Blake and associates. (Clonemaster Colony Two state that it is impossible for the Clonemasters to generate a fully grown replica in the timespans popularly suggested – but “they would say that wouldn’t they?” Note they refuse to state how many sister or daughter colonies are in existence – or how many clones they are responsible for – but there #do# appear to be traces of several strands of Rule of Life philosophy throughout rebel and other activities and literature. However some people have adopted the philosophy without being part of the Clonemaster culture itself.)

Given his personality profile it is unlikely Blake-the-rebel had any direct association with the person of the same name operating on Gauda Prime mentioned in various reports. This latter person was a capable and sometimes ruthless organiser – this type of rebel was beginning to emerge at this point in the lead-up to the Great Rearrangement, and some continuity was obviously, and understandably, desired. The computer specialist using the codename “Deva” was, it is clear, able to construct a fake identity in the computer records, a process which would possibly have to have been started before the destruction of Star One.

How exactly “Arlen” and the Avon group fitted into the events on Gauda Prime prior to its takeover by the Federation is now uncertain. Given that the sequence of events which led to the eventual ending of the old regime #definitely# started on Gauda Prime, the association may be fortuitous or another attempt at synchronicity – or, possibly, based on truth. While the records show that the Avon group were investigating stories of Blake’s presence, given his separation from them – so their presence, however briefly, on Gauda Prime is plausible, and there is just enough evidence to show that it may well have happened – there is no definitive proof. Coordination of rebels and others and the activities they pursued was being promoted as the most likely way of achieving regime change – as proved to be the case. Kerr Avon, who was #definitely# involved in such activities would have been willing to link up with most persons involved in similar pursuits (if only to avoid duplication of, or conflict between, their various activities).

.Most of the stories associated with the “celebrated encounter” contradict each other, a number wander into the more bizarre realms of conspiracy theory. (Note – most of these latter seem to involve more time, people, and resources than seem practical. There are more reasons for such complex “plots” being leaked – from “sheer stupidity and incompetence” via someone wanting money and fame for themselves – than for them to persist. The simpler the means of collusion, and the more emphasis on personal convenience and benefits, the more likely the collaboration will persist.). Why would Avon go to the trouble of finding Blake only to try to kill him over a trivial misunderstanding?

The “standard biography” of the person who became President Arlen (having been playing what appears to be at least a triple bluff on Gauda Prime) will be released shortly. It promises to provide much information on how she made use of Federation, rebel and other connections to contribute to a brief coordination among all those wishing to change the system as it was to create the situation in which the present system emerged – or so the newspapers with their “exclusive extracts” and program creators promise. (Note to self – given the ham-fisted rewriting of my “useful notes” and un-creative significant misinterpretation of the facts presented by such persons, double the fees charged next time.)

7) Orac

It has been proved that ‘Orac’ was one of a group of standard names used for test programs and similar (others include ‘Gambit’, ‘Slave’, and ‘Zen’), so some of the capacities and interventions assigned to such computers using those names undoubtedly have other origins.

The computer using the name Orac and claiming to be the actual original one of that name, insists that it was created by the computer expert Ensor on the planet Aristo – though probably with more involvement by others than is apparent – and that it worked with the Blake/Avon group – which does seem to be true, given the information supplied. It is also claimed that one of the computer experts associated with Roj Blake – Kerr Avon – also created an Orac construct. (Or, possibly, several, given the several forms in which so-named entities appear. It is a standard joke that computer experts are never happy with what they have created, only with what they are theoretically capable of producing.) The main computer claiming that designation today has been much reworked during its history, so its actual age and origins cannot presently be fully determined. Its actual abilities – which appear to be somewhat less than, or quite different to, its claims – are presently being investigated. It is cooperating with the constructed sentient development program – though having serious arguments with some of the products.

8) Terminal.

This planet appears regularly in the news, science programmes (of various levels of validity and plausibility) and ‘creative history’ and fiction programs. It is extremely unlikely that the planet in its present form was developed anywhere near Earth. “It is not the proverbial rocket science” to realise that Terminal-as-is would have caused significant gravitational and other disruption had it existed at any point in that location – and it would have taken [check figure] years to move it between stated and present locations. Given its present level of geological instability any attempt at moving it would probably have led to terminal geological activity. [Must chase up pet geologist’s investigations on this.]

9) Central Control and Star One.

The Federation #did# have their main computers at one location, which was changed on a semi-regular basis – when the computers became too incompatible with current developments, excessive inherent computer errors arose, there were too many attempts to take over or destroy the system etc. From the surviving records the extragalactic white dwarf known as Star One did have a single planet in orbit, which was being used as a base for various purposes – part of the extragalactic exploration project (including the still over-costly missions to the galaxy’s satellites and neighbours) and as an astronomical base. The now decommissioned (and #extremely# reworked) Space Command is presently in orbit around Star One serving the same purpose. (The files on why and how it was moved are still to be released. The statement by the rulers of Freedom City that they could have paid for the construction of a new and much better Space Command may be true, but are probably exaggerated.) Having the Federation’s main computers so far from its administrative centre is unlikely: and likewise mind-blocking the technicians so they could not call for help in an emergency (though, given the arrant stupidity of some of the policies then adopted, not entirely implausible).

10) Alien invasions.

Another perennial favourite of the novelists and more creative end of the “news” market, as well as scare stories (Note – put a fiver in the office sweepstakes on ‘bizarre sentient’ being the next such story promoted on the news.) What evidence there is points to, at most, occasional incursions, trade, and a series of minor incidents, with the occasional battle (such as occurred near the sometime forward base/occasional prison planet and now regional hub Cygnus Alpha and the destruction of Star One’s planet, whatever its actual causes). 

Further research into, and discussion of varying validity and rationality into these and related subjects seems guaranteed, so a regular source of articles.


End file.
